GWSR Cotswold Festival of Steam 'Cheltenham & Gloucester Steam Days' 12-14 May

As far as I have heard there are still no current plans to make our new signal box actually operational. I would love to hear evidence of the contrary.

 

I would have thought something like would have been a bit of a ‘no brainer’ surely something that gives a bit of operational flexibility can’t be a bad thing?

 

I visited the box on Friday afternoon and the man in there said they were hoping to commission it over this coming winter.
In any case, trains to Broadway don't need to be top and tailed as they can run around using the ground frame. I guess this was done for a quicker turn around there on some trains during the gala.

 

The trouble is the way it's been set up, once we open it we have to staff the box every single day or we can't run trains to Broadway. So it's a big leap to commit to that.

 

Fair enough.

 

Yes, a staff released from Toddington allows access into the section and unlocks the ground frame to run round.

 

Does anything prevent a loco being locked in the run round whilst another has the token and can depart into the section?
That would allow loco changes at Broadway without top & tailing.

 

No, only the south turnout is locked by the staff, the northern one is just a hand point as no passenger movements go over it. So in theory you go to the north turnout, pick the road the south turnout is locked to and away you go.
Wouldnt necessarily prevent some sort of local rule being introduced to allow it though, maybe one to consider in future if the box isn't open next year.

 

The gentleman who was in charge of the box on Saturday said they hoped to have it working at the start of next season but did add that it largely depends on sufficient signallers being trained by then. What surprised me was that he was talking about plans to double the track from Broadway to Laverton - is that correct? I can't quite see the point. If anything should be redoubled it's the section between Toddington and Winchcombe!

 

Sadly I think the gentleman you saw does not take the decisions. The box is now fully equipped, the shell has been there since 2016 or so. That should tell you something about how keen they are to open it. The signals still have crosses on them.
I have never heard of any doubling plans anywhere.

 

I'm not sure you could easily do that.

If you did that, the first train arrives with two locos and returns with one, at which point when it arrives back at Toddington you can't say "train arrived complete". Essentially you have left something behind in section and, being mobile and with a hand-operate point at the north end of Broadway, there is no longer a guarantee that the next train arriving would be running into a clear platform - or even a clear section. Essentially, the safety would only be maintained by "reaching a clear understanding with the driver that they wouldn't move their loco" from whichever platform they had been in when the first part of the train departed (or words to that effect); the existing interlocking alone would not guarantee that the section was clear for a following train to enter.

If both ends of the loop were locked by the ground frame and there was some mechanism to ensure that both were locked to the same road (most easily achieved by having both roads have a "normal" direction into one platform, and the token only being releasable with the ground frame fully normal) then you could achieve a turnover engine in the way you suggest.(*) But with one end being a hand point and no signals to prevent movement, I don't think you could allow it, at least not while also allowing full interlocking for arriving trains against a conflicting move.

Signals exist for a reason. While they aren't essential, if you choose not to implement them, then you have to accept a corresponding loss of operational flexibility.

(*) Which essentially turns a two-platform station into a one-platform station.

Tom

 

Again does concur with what the man in there on Friday said about commissioning this winter, would have been a different person as he said he was only there Friday. This chap also sounded more realistic, he was very much against extending to Honeybourne! I see the dilemma with opening the box however, if you can't guarantee you will have the manpower to staff it when required. If I understand what @flying scotsman123 said correctly, you would need someone in there simply to run round as you wouldn't have the ground frames for the crew to operate the points any more? I assume the box at Cheltenham has to be manned every operating day as it stands for the same reason?

 

It's actually more restrictive than Cheltenham. You can do Toddington to Cheltenham on a staff and travelling signalman if only 1 train - signalman switches out Toddington and travels down on the train to Cheltenham, opens the box to do the run round, then switches out and travels back. I don't think you will be able to do that at Broadway because it's token-less acceptance lever working; so if you want to go to Broadway you need someone concurrently in Toddington and Broadway to accept the train.

 

Presumably if you open Broadway at all, you need some level of station staff? Just wondering if you could have a Signalman-porter role?

(In other words, given that the minimum level of manning of the station right now is presumably n people, does n need to change if one of them also has an intermittent role as a signalman while a train is approaching / running round / ready to depart? Or could one of the existing people cover the signalman role?)

Tom

 

Although a slightly different track layout at the far terminus end (no siding, only the run round headshunt), Holt (NNR) has a ground frame that can be worked by the token for the station throat points when the box is switched out. I guess working by acceptance lever to Broadway would mean that it really has to be staffed every running day or remain as is.

 

Unlikely I suspect, I think anyone operating it would have to pass all the signalling exams as normal, and once you stipulate that, I doubt you'd get many takers from the station staff department. It's also not much help for fire and drive days or any other charter where you currently can run along the whole line with just 1 travelling signalman and no stations open, just give the guard the key to the loos etc.

 

10 of my favourite shots from this years Gala!! Featuring every loco from this years line up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I have to say, this by far has been the best steam gala I have ever been to in my entire life!
Nothing will ever top this!